a. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to the problem of diapers not being changed in a timely fashion when the y have been soiled. This need relates to baby diapers, incontinence diapers, and seniors' diapers. It is a very serious problem for nursing homes, hospitals and other senior care facilities, as well as for other caretakers. The present invention involves a wireless alarm system to advise any caretaker in the vicinity of a receiver, that a diaper needs to be changed. The present invention devices and systems are particularly advantageous for a number of reasons. The inserted conductive strips are disposable and need not be removed from the disposable diapers; the transmitter is detachable and may be reused many times over; the alarm signal is wireless and the receiver need not be in the same room or area as the diaper wearer.
The present invention systems may further include dual monitoring: fist, to assure that the transmitter is connected to the conductive strip; and second, to signal an alarm when a diaper is adequately wet to close the conductive strip circuit and transmit the alarm frequency to the receiver. In some embodiments, the transmitters all have different frequencies and a wireless receiver and controller will handle multiple patients (diaper users) simultaneously and identify the particular patient that is in need of a diaper change. In some embodiments, the receiver/controller is a computer with sufficient software to maintain a computerized history (tracking) so that care records for each patient may be preserved and reviewed.
b. Description of Related Art
The following patents are representative of the field pertaining to the present invention:
U.S. Pat. No. 7,431,716 to Tracy describes a disposable diaper having a diaper body including an inner lining comprising a liquid-absorbent material and a removable core shaped to engage a portion of the inner lining. The removable core is temporarily secured to the diaper body and is removable therefrom.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,774,800 B2 to Friedman et al. describes a patient fluid discharge monitoring method and apparatus includes at least one article configured to be worn by a patient, the article having absorbent material and a RF tag received adjacent the absorbent material. The RF tag is excited with an excitation signal and the response of the RF tag to the excitation signal is detected. The detected response of the RF tag is compared to a predetermined response. The RF tag has a first detected response when the absorbent material has no fluid the rein and a second detected response when the absorbent material has fluid the rein.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,384,728 B1 to Kanor et al. describes a personal care monitoring system having at least one condition detecting sensor and a corresponding condition indicator. The condition-detecting sensor may indicate detection of wetness, such as caused by enuresis. Alternatively, or additionally, the condition-detecting sensor may indicate that the physical position of the wearer of the device has not been adjusted for over a predetermined amount of time after which the likelihood of the development of bedsores increases. The indicator may be any desired type of indicator, preferably alerting one of the senses that the monitored condition has been detected. For instance, the indicator may be a light, an audible alarm, or a vibrating device. A processing means preferably is provided to control operation of the various components of the monitoring system. Moreover, the processing means may be programmed to store information pertaining to the operation of the components of the monitoring system. For example, the time at which a condition has been detected as well as the time at which a caregiver has attended to the condition may be recorded. Such information may be retrieved to determine the frequency of care given to the wearer of the monitoring system as well as the amount of time elapsed between occurrence of the monitored condition and attendance to such condition by the caregiver.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,082 to Mahgerefteh, et al. describes a system for detecting wetness in diapers for the propose of calling the attention of a caretaker. The system is based on the nonlinear interaction of an implanted device inside the diaper with a low distortion background electromagnetic field. The background field is generated by a transmitter external to the diaper. The device is a combination of an antenna, a nonlinear element and two electrodes. Upon a wet condition, the resistance between the two electrodes decreases, resulting in an increase in coupling between the antenna and the nonlinear element. The ensuing nonlinear interaction between the antenna and the background field gives rise to harmonics of the field that are detected by a receiver. The receiver that is also external to the diaper triggers a suitable alarm.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,377 to Kronberg describes an apparatus for detecting the presence of a liquid in a region, including an electrically passive sensor adapted for contacting the liquid, and an electrically active detector. The sensor is a circuit with a pair of spaced-apart terminals connected to a switch that closes in the presence of the liquid. The detector carries an alternating current with a resonant frequency. When the sensor is placed in a region and liquid is present in the region, the circuit of the sensor is closed. By bringing the detector close to the sensor, an alternating current is induced in the sensor that will, in turn, alter the resonant frequency of the detector. The change in the resonant frequency is signaled by a transducer. The switch can operate by a change in conductivity of a material between the terminals of the sensor or by expansion of a liquid absorber that pushes the two terminals together, or by a change in the conductivity of the space between the terminals as a result of the presence of the liquid. The detector generates an audible or visible signal, or both, in response to the change in current.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,032 to Kline et al. describes a device for signaling a wet condition in a diaper. The device includes a sensing means for sensing wet conditions in the diaper and signal means connected to the sensing means for producing a signal substantially concurrently with sensing the wet conditions in the diaper. The sensing means are insulated from the wearer when the diaper is dry and are activated by the diaper once the diaper becomes wet.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,246 to Flack et al. describes urinary incontinence can be evaluated both in respect of frequency and quantity by use of a detector device in the form of a flexible sheet of absorbent material having elongate electrodes supported in it in an interleaved, uniformly spaced array. This device is worn as a diaper and any incontinence will vary and be detectable and measurable by the electrical conductivity of the sheet material between the electrodes. Any undesirable variations in this technique due to compression of the sheet in use can be offset by supporting the electrodes in a waved manner along their lengths and through the sheet thickness, and by quilting the sheet. Other variations due to differing urine salts content can be taken into account by pre-loading the sheet with a salt to give a datum or bias salt level above which such variations are less significant.
United States Patent Application No. US 2008/0129519 A1 to Gabriel describes a multi-sensor baby care monitoring system includes a wetness sensor configured to generate a first signal relating to an occurrence of a wetness event relative to a wetness containment device, such as a diaper. The monitoring system further includes a human life sensor configured to generate a second signal relating to a presence or absence of a human relative to the wetness containment device. If desired, a system controller may be used for receiving the first and second signals and generating data associated with the wetness event and the presence or absence of said human.
Notwithstanding the prior art, the present invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious thereby.